Wash house in Tzintzuntzan, Mexico
About this photograph
- Creator
- Margery H. Freeman
- Date created
- July 1970
- Location
- Tzintzuntzan, Mexico
- License
- This photograph copyright ©2007. Terms of use
Related media
Learn more
- Search LEARN NC for Mexico and Tzintzuntzan.
In the classroom
- See our collection of articles on visual literacy for ideas on using photographs meaningfully in the classroom.
Three people use a large public wash house to wash clothes. The wash house consists of a double row of basins fed by one central tap. The basins and roof supports are made of thick-walled concrete.
Tzintzuntzan is a small town near Pátzcuaro, Mexico in the state of Michoacán. It dates from before the arrival of the Spanish and was established by the P’urhépecha people. In the P’urhé language, Tzintzuntzan means the “Place of the Hummingbirds.” During the pre-colonial period, the town served as an important ceremonial site and had several large stone pyramids. Many of these pyramids were dismantled by the Spanish to provide building blocks for colonial institutions, but the original ruins remain for archaeologists to study. Today the town is a popular tourist attraction and is known also for its hand-made baskets.
